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My household has been practicing social distancing and we are staying home except in emergencies. We follow the guidelines set forth by the CDC website.

Here's the part that sucks: my wife works for the Michigan Secretary of State's office (some states call it the DMV) issuing/renewing drivers licenses, registering vehicles/boats, titles....etc

Her work has mandated that they work two extra hours daily, still doing these menial non-critical tasks, in close contact with the public despite our governor closing ALL k-12 schools and colleges and bars/restaurants statewide and asking employers to "step up and work with/help" employees affected by these restrictions and closures.

Yet the state she represents is not stepping up but rather going against CDC guidelines and taking the opposite approach.

We have a clean safe house and every day she comes home resets a two week clock to wait and see if she/we are infected.

That seems to be just begging for community transmission, especially with the most recent findings suggesting asymptomatic carriers really fueling the spread.
 
I know a number of knife makers whose spouse has the 'real job', while the knife making bolsters income a little bit, (or at least provides write offs!).

Knife makers are clever and resourceful by nature. When it comes time to start rebuilding after the economy collapses, there is going to be a lot of stuff that needs fixing. Gone are the days, at least for now, of just heading to your local big box store and buying a new widget cuz the old one stopped working for some reason. The kind of availability of stuff that we've grown accustomed to is going to be massively curtailed, probably for a long time- maybe for all time.

Things are likely about to get medieval. People with the kind of skills associated with knife making will be well positioned to be indispensable to their communities, and that means opportunity and leverage, especially where society is more disordered. People who make themselves indispensable will always do ok. But the shift to fixer of all things and sharpener and maintainer of implements will dominate the shop, putting knife making on the back burner. I suggest that if you knife making folk are prepared to diversify, the time to start learning new skills, like small appliance repair, is now. Youtube is your friend.
 
sheathmaker said:
Well, I happen to be one of those "old and infirmed" at 87 and history of heart and respiratory problems, so I will reluctantly, voluntarily not show up at any of the knife shows in the near future. I do see that two of them rescheduled so I might still be able to attend those. While I may not be present at the shows, I am still very much "at your service" and the US Mail, UPS, and FedEx are all woking also, so to some degree, I'll be able to serve my friends as usual.

Paul
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Stay well, my friend.
 
Yikes! You scared me there for a minute! I thought you said we'd be facing charges...

Well, some of us would be, but let's not be drawing too much attention to a forum full of very sharp knives. Sure it's a toy or hobby to most of us, but none of us want to sit in a squad car some pitch dark midnight pleading, "No, officer, I'm a distinguished, known cutlery hobbyist recognized by thousands..."
 
my military academy has left the cadets home from spring break and we're spending this week preparing to deliver the rest of the semester remotely if necessary (on both ends). I was hoping to teach an entire semester start-to-finish without interruption (started in October), but not yet...
 
today I sold a knife from my collection, which was really great timing on a number of levels. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. What's on my mind is keeping each other and ourselves safe.

COVID-19 is a tough virus that seems to be able to survive a surprising amount of time of all kinds of surfaces. Please review that information HERE.

I keep a spray bottle filled with 99% isopropyl alcohol on my work bench for cleaning disk brakes on bikes. That spray bottle is now here at home and is handy for disinfecting door handles, steering wheels etc.

today I used that spray bottle filled with isopropyl to thoroughly disinfect the knife I sold. I wrapped the knife carefully in paper towels, making sure not to touch it with bare fingers after applying some mineral oil to the blade. Upshot of this approach is that if something bad happens to someone from the knife you previously owned, your fingerprints aren't on it.

for as long as we are able to continue sending packages to each other, we should be very careful about ensuring that whatever we've sent doesn't include any nasty surprises.

for as long as we are able to continue receiving packages from others, understand that this package has been handled by multiple people and that this virus can survive on cardboard for up to a day. Make sure you wash your hands after opening the box containing your sweet new knife, or better yet wear gloves and make sure you dispose of the packaging in a way that it doesn't come into contact with anything you don't want a virus on.

don't assume that your sweet new knife doesn't have germs on it. If you don't want to spray it down with rubbing alcohol, leave it for a few days, get some sunlight on it, put it under UV or whatever, just assume there is a potential for it to be contaminated.

stay well, friends!
 
No change in plans here, other than social distancing, not going out to dinner, and forgoing my weekly leg wax treatment. I don't stockpile knives for the shows as I don't go to shows because if I ever see the inside of an airplane again, it'll be too soon. I do feel badly for those that have busted their ass getting ready for the shows, made arrangements, bought tickets, etc., only to have their plans dashed. Life is hard.

What I am doing differently is working on my acceptance of the things I can't control. *political comments removed- Mod*

Susan and I are both retired here in Maine and grateful that our retirement has produced some financial stability in this crisis. To those of you out there that are having a hard go of it, hang in there.
 
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Lorien said:
I expect there to be a great many contentious ideas thrown around, but please treat each other with civility and respect. Obviously any posts regarding politics, religion or things of that sort will be disappeared into Bladeforums' nether regions.
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thank your for the reminder, knarfeng.

I moved a post and cleared out some politalk. Don't be disappointed, I said I was going to stay on top of that and expect you all to accept it

A collector recently contacted me regarding his thoughts regarding a swap or giveaway to help people out. This is the kind of neat thing that happens when the chips are down.
 
I live in Australia, and even though I'm listed as a critical worker and still pulling in a wage, the big killer for me has been the exchange rate. The Aussie dollar went from just under 1.5xUS to just over 1.8xUS. Several purchases I'd planned on are no longer an option. And I'm selling a few knives (here and elsewhere) to make some extra $ and put some of it into a "help out friends" fund, because I know some of my friends and family are going to get hit bad over the next 6 months. I'd agree with Lorien about inflated custom prices. I was considering selling a couple of my more expensive pieces, but not anymore - I'd probably only get half the value.

What do you guys reckon - is it more important at this time to support individual makers over big company makers?
 
TK Steingass said:
No change in plans here, other than social distancing, not going out to dinner, and forgoing my weekly leg wax treatment. I don't stockpile knives for the shows as I don't go to shows because if I ever see the inside of an airplane again, it'll be too soon. I do feel badly for those that have busted their ass getting ready for the shows, made arrangements, bought tickets, etc., only to have their plans dashed. Life is hard.

What I am doing differently is working on my acceptance of the things I can't control. *political comments removed- Mod*

Susan and I are both retired here in Maine and grateful that our retirement has produced some financial stability in this crisis. To those of you out there that are having a hard go of it, hang in there.
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Weekly leg wax treatment?
 
I’ve only been making around 4-5 big knives a year recently and hope this whole thing doesn’t slow me down anymore because then I might not even be able to call myself a Knifemaker

but in all seriousness guys

I’m an EMT for the FDNY in Manhattan and can tell by Firsthand experience this thing is serious. We broke the record for calls a day 3 days in a row by about 2000 patients. They even shut city blocks down to extend the morgues which are now about 20 giant tractor trailer type temperature controlled vehicles that can hold probably 50 bodies each and they built structures in the street to house more. I’ve taken a few people in their 30s to the hospital who I’ve been made aware did not make it. You can hear the numbers on the news but seeing them in person really makes you wake up. Please don’t think lightly of the situation.
STAY SAFE everyone!
 
PaulDiStefano said:
I’ve only been making around 4-5 big knives a year recently and hope this whole thing doesn’t slow me down anymore because then I might not even be able to call myself a Knifemaker

but in all seriousness guys

I’m an EMT for the FDNY in Manhattan and can tell by Firsthand experience this thing is serious. We broke the record for calls a day 3 days in a row by about 2000 patients. They even shut city blocks down to extend the morgues which are now about 20 giant tractor trailer type temperature controlled vehicles that can hold probably 50 bodies each and they built structures in the street to house more. I’ve taken a few people in their 30s to the hospital who I’ve been made aware did not make it. You can hear the numbers on the news but seeing them in person really makes you wake up. Please don’t think lightly of the situation.
STAY SAFE everyone!
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Thank you for your service.
 
Thanks PaulDiStefano PaulDiStefano Yes, this is a BIG part of this virus' problem. For 99% of us WE DON'T SEE the carnage. It's not happening to us. I've still yet to see one person affected. But It's NOT a conspiracy theory.

I am really doing my part and staying away from nearly anything indoors (outside of my home). It's affected my business strongly, too.

I have stopped three well-meaning makers from a visit to shoot knives in my studio. Plan A: Ship them to me. Plan B: I will meet in the driveway, clean them, shoot them, and return them to you outside. Go get a cup of coffee...

I don't know I'm a carrier. Or not. YOU don't know you are a carrier. Or not. NO ONE KNOWS unless they are hacking and coughing, and then, well....
 
Man with no name said:
Weekly leg wax treatment?
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Of course! I'm also going to miss my manicure and hair styling with the girls at the salon here in Bucksport. :p

In all seriousness - the food banks are depleted. Susan and I will be giving a portion of the government check we get to the local food bank.
 
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